"I wanted to make a record that sounded like a record called Caramel. Not a record that sounded like caramel – a record that sounded like a record called Caramel.”

When he began work on his second album, with just the title as his starting point, it took New Zealand psychedelic songwriter Connan Mockasin into an interesting new direction.

The resulting album, which was recorded in a Tokyo hotel room, bears comparison with Prince at his most psychedelic and laidback, augmented by a supporting cast of otherworldly voices, girlish laughter, soft but funky drum patterns and soundscapes overlaid by crystal-chiming guitars.

“I’m not fond of recording studios,” says Mockasin, battling the flu after a tour of the US, as he prepares to play his first UK show in Bristol.

“There are too many options. I like hotel rooms. I like how there is not too much to them. It seemed quite exciting to me to have limitations.”

The many voices on the record are Connan’s own. He disputes accusations of using pitch-shifting, particularly on the song I’m The Man, That Will Find You.

“There’s one main character who I call The Boss, who introduces the record at the beginning and signs off at the end,” he says. “The rest of it is not affected at all – it’s me playing with my voice. I enjoy fiddling around and seeing what your voice can do. There are layers but no effects on it, apart from The Boss.

“With the last album, a lot of people said in a negative way that I sang really high. I thought I’d do some low stuff to show them!”

The way the album has developed is contrary to how Mockasin had initially envisioned it.

“I didn’t expect the last record [released as Dolphin Love Forever in the UK] to be heard or released, or to tour it,” he says. “It was a really pleasant surprise when it was.

“With this record, I knew it was going to be released. That was the main difference between the two of them. I had wanted to record with the band but everyone was all over the world at the time, so I just did it on my own, with my drummer coming in for a bit.

“I had in mind that I needed something simple, which could be easily recreated live. Once I started, I completely forgot about that.

“We’ve been pretty much learning it while we’ve been on tour in the US.”

Mockasin always imagined Caramel as a complete entity.

“I don’t like people calling something a record when they have just put songs in an order,” he says. “Most records are compilations of the best songs [the artist] has written in the past two years.

“I like Caramel being thought about as a record and listened to as one piece so it all makes sense.

“I think a lot of it has to do with iTunes. Being able to buy single songs off a record – it’s like buying a page or a chapter from a book. It doesn’t really work.”

Perhaps underlining this idea is the second half of the album, which is largely made up of one song – It’s Your Body – divided into five parts.

“It’s a change of mood for the record,” he says. “I like records that change and shift on the second half, that feel a little bit different from the first side.”

He is even considering making a few tweaks and changes should the album get re-issued.

“The song Nothing Lasts Forever won’t be on there after the first pressing,” he says, adding it reflects the song’s ephemeral title. “I want to re-release it with new artwork and new parts but that’s only if this one sells out!”

The UK is somewhere close to his heart. He calls Manchester his home at present, as it is near where his manager lives.

Once this tour is over, he plans to make his home in New York, admitting most of his Manchester stay has been about having quiet downtime.

Memories of Sussex

He recorded his debut album in his New Zealand hometown of Te Awanga, spending his nights in a tent in his parents’ garden. He lived for a time in the south of England, spending several years in London and even 12 months in Lewes.

“I was looking to move to Brighton,” says Mockasin, recalling his time spent in Sussex eight years ago. “My auntie, who lives in Brighton, invited me to go antiques shopping with her in Lewes. I went with her and just fell in love with it straight away. I knew I had to live there.”

His album may have been released in November but this isn’t the only release Mockasin has been working on. He has been writing with Charlotte Gainsbourg – having contributed a song to her Stage Whisper double album – although admits those sessions have stopped for now as she concentrates on her film career.

And later this year Domino is set to release a collaborative project with Samuel Dust from Late Of The Pier under the name Soft Hair.

“We started working on it years ago,” admits Mockasin. “We will tour if people want to see it – it would be different, more relaxing than fronting a band.

“It would certainly take the weight off, although it’s sometimes fun having that weight if you’re in the right mood.”